Life is a frozen beach! The lake is frozen solid and little fish huts can be seen dotting the perimeters but at -20 degrees, I'm not sure that even if they were each filled to the walls with 5 or six fat guys, they still wouldn't freeze to death. These days, there certainly isn't any curvaceous women wearing bikinis strutting their stuff along the sandy beach, leaving their footprints in the sand - no - it's time for furry long-johns with the flap sewed shut and snow shoes. Dang if it aint cold - Big Red, one of our roosters, I thought for sure he was dead, frozen stiffer than a board between the nesting boxes and the wall. Silly old cluck, must of thought it was a warmer place and wedged himself in so tight, it took both Sarah and I to get his feathery ass pushed out of that tight, narrow little space. He was walkin' like he'd had too many apple ciders until he regained his proper balance and then just like the virile rooster he is, he immediately grabbed one of the hens by the top of her comb with his beak and yippee-ki-yay, rode her like a true cowboy. It doesn't feel like spring is in the air but perhaps it is, or either, roosters are just plain randy fellahs - that's what I'm thinking.
Freya the goat seems to be holding up pretty good so far in this cold weather although I did find a little ice on her back close to her tail. Not sure how she got so wet up so high. Although the garage is just slightly below zero, I expect the temperature is about the same where she lives, so she should be just fine, especially when the temperature soars to a whopping -7 degrees later today. But it's cold here in Fosterville; it's so cold that when I exhale and my breath freezes, it puts on a pair of boots and starts marching south to thaw out. I just can't figure out Luki, our miniature polar bear of a dog; instead of curling up in the warm straw inside the barn, he seems to prefer laying out on the ice and snow - go figure. So far I've mentioned the chickens, goat and the dog so I might as well mention Finnegan the cat; our mouse killer - he looks like a secret agent as he sneaks about the place. Not sure if the cold is bothering him or not but I suspect it is because he's moved his sleeping quarters from the top of my studio to the barn - snuggles into the straw for a little extra insulation and warmth.
There is a lot to say about sleeping in a straw pile and I can speak with authority on that subject since I've slept in several straw beds over the years. I can definitely vouch for it's warmth and comfort and I didn't even care that a few mice snuggled up to me during the night. If you're cold and wet; straw can make one helluva good bed and if a guy has a warm-bodied cowgirl to snuggle with; it's even more delightful (wink, wink).
Although the temperature in the studio is well above zero; a person soon gets chilled just sitting here at the keyboard typing out a blog - got a feeling this is going to be a very short one. I have to rub my hands together and blow on them to keep the blood circulating properly. Even though I'm well dressed for the studio, that is to say I'm wearing a Cowichan Indian knitted thick, wool sweater, wool socks with the toes cut off for my hands, a fur hat with the flaps down around my ears, my fingers are beginning to turn blue and are becoming a touch numb. Having arthritis in both hands doesn't help either - between my hands and my back, almost feels like I've swallowed a couple of drums and they're throbbing in time to the beat.
No use complaining about the weather though, even if it is cold enough to freeze the teats off a coyote - nothing I can do about it except adding layers of more clothing and throwing more logs into the fire. However, I'll soon be nice and warm in the house - I'm going to strip off some wall paper and then paint Sarah's new pantry room - have to get it ready for the shelving George and I are going to install sometime this week. Finally got Jessica's bottom of the bed cut in half so I could fold it up and get it upstairs yesterday - I was too busy this past autumn with other chores. It's not like she didn't have a place to sleep though because her mattress is as thick as the part it sits on. Most likely shouldn't have bothered putting her bed together because early this morning, I heard a big thump and then Jessica crying - yeah, you guessed it; she fell out of bed.
Well, my finger tips have just about lost all their feeling, so I think it's best to end this blog, lift my frozen butt off this chair and head into the house, stand by the fire and thaw out. Better check the livestock's water first though; doesn't take long before it's frozen solid. Oh yeah, and when I get into the house it'll be time for a hot drink with perhaps a little added stimulate to help get my blood circulating through this old body - cheers, eh!
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